Editing Durham, North Carolina (section)

===Antebellum and Civil War===
Prior to the arrival of the railroad, the area now known as Durham was the eastern part of present-day Orange County and was almost entirely agricultural, with a few businesses catering to travelers (particularly livestock drivers) along the Hillsborough Road. This road, eventually followed by US Route 70, was the major east–west route in North Carolina from colonial times until the construction of interstate highways. Steady population growth and an intersection with the road connecting Roxboro and Fayetteville made the area near this site suitable for a US Post Office. Roxboro, Fayetteville and Hillsborough Roads remain major thoroughfares in Durham, although they no longer exactly follow their early 19th century rights-of-way.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History Beneath Our Feet |url=http://museumofdurhamhistory.org/beneathourfeet/streets |url-status=dead |access-date=2022-11-06 |publisher=Museum of Durham History |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106150037/http://museumofdurhamhistory.org/beneathourfeet/streets }}</ref>

Large plantations, [[Hardscrabble (Bahama, North Carolina)|Hardscrabble]], [[Fairntosh Plantation|Fairntosh]], [[Lipscomb House|Lipscomb]], [[Walnut Hall (Durham, North Carolina)|Walnut Hall]], [[Patterson Plantation|Patterson]], and [[Leigh Farm|Leigh]] among them, were established in the antebellum period. By 1860, [[Stagville|Stagville Plantation]] lay at the center of one of the largest plantation holdings in the South. African slaves were brought to labor on these farms and plantations, and slave quarters became the hearth of distinctively Southern cultural traditions involving crafts, social relations, life rituals, music, and dance. There were free [[African-American]]s in the area as well, including several who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Durham's location is a result of the needs of the 19th century railroad industry. The wood-burning steam locomotives of the time had to stop frequently for wood and water and the new [[North Carolina Railroad]] needed a depot between the settled towns of Raleigh and Hillsborough. The residents of what is now downtown Durham thought their businesses catering to livestock drivers had a better future than "a new-fangled nonsense like a railroad" and refused to sell or lease land for a depot.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Durham |url=https://durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4097 |access-date=24 January 2017 |publisher=City of Durham |format=PDF}}</ref> In 1849, a North Carolina Railroad depot was established on a four-acre tract of land donated by [[Bartlett S. Durham|Dr. Bartlett S. Durham]]; the station was named after him in recognition of his gift.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Welcome to The City of Durham |url=https://durhamnc.gov/1457/Welcome-to-The-City-of-Durham |access-date=2020-07-30 |publisher=City of Durham}}</ref> A [[U.S. Post Office|U.S. post office]] was established there on April 26, 1853, now recognized as the city's official birthday.<ref name=":0"/>

Durham Station, as it was known for its first 20 years, was a depot for the occasional passenger or express package until early April 1865, when the Federal Army commanded by Major General [[William T. Sherman]] occupied the nearby state capital of Raleigh during the American Civil War. The last formidable Confederate Army in the South, commanded by General [[Joseph E. Johnston]], was headquartered in [[Greensboro]] {{convert|50|mi|km}} to the west. After the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Gen. [[Robert E. Lee]] at [[Appomattox, Virginia]] on April 9, 1865, Gen. Johnston sought surrender terms, which were negotiated on April 17, 18 and 26 at [[Bennett Place]], the small farm of James and Nancy Bennett, located halfway between the army's lines about {{convert|3|mi|km}} west of Durham Station.

As both armies passed through Durham, Hillsborough, and surrounding Piedmont communities, they enjoyed the mild flavor of the area's [[Virginia tobacco|Brightleaf tobacco]], which was considered more pleasant to smoke or chew than was available back home after the war. Some began sending letters to Durham to get more.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeargin |first=W.W. |year=2006 |title=Tobacco– Part 3: The Rise of 'Big Tobacco' |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/tobacco-part-3-rise-big-tobacco |access-date=2018-01-25 |website=NCpedia |publisher=NC Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources – State Library of NC – NC Government & Heritage Library |language=en-US}}</ref>